''Surviving Picasso'' is a 1996

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

film directed by

James Ivory James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with scree ...

and starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

as the famous painter

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

. It was produced by

Ismail Merchant Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman (25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005)) was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included Direct ...

and

David L. Wolper David Lloyd Wolper (January 11, 1928 – August 10, 2010) was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as ''Roots'', '' The Thorn Birds'', and ''North and South'', and the theatrically-released films ''L.A. Confiden ...

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (; 7 May 19273 April 2013) was a British author and screenwriter. She is best known for her collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, made up of director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. In 1951, Jhabvala ma ...

's screenplay was loosely based on the

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

''Picasso: Creator and Destroyer'' by

Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of ''The ...

Plot

The young Françoise meets Picasso in

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

-occupied

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where Picasso is complaining that people broke into his house and stole his linen, rather than his paintings. It shows Françoise being beaten by her father after telling him she wants to be a painter, rather than a lawyer. Picasso is shown as often not caring about other people's feelings, firing his driver after a long period of service, and as a womanizer, saying that he can sleep with whomever he wants. The film is seen through the eyes of his lover

Françoise Gilot Marie Françoise Gilot (born 26 November 1921) is a French painter, best known for her relationship with Pablo Picasso, with whom she had two children. Gilot was already launched as an accomplished artist, notably in watercolours and ceramics, b ...

(

Natascha McElhone Natascha McElhone (; born Natascha Abigail Taylor, 14 December 1971) is a British actress. She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In film, she is best known for her roles in '' Ronin'' (1998), '' The Truman Show'' (1 ...

). As the producers were unable to get permission to show the works of Picasso in the film, the film is more about Picasso's personal life rather than his works, and where it does show paintings, they are not his more famous works. When Picasso is shown painting ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

'', the camera sits high above the painting, with the work only slightly visible. The film depicts several of the women who were important in Picasso's life, such as

Olga Khokhlova Olga Picasso (born Olga Stepanovna Khokhlova; russian: Ольга Степановна Хохлова; 17 June 1891 – 11 February 1955) was a ballet dancer in the Russian ballet. She was also the first wife of Pablo Picasso, one of his ea ...

(played by

Jane Lapotaire Jane Elizabeth Marie Lapotaire (née Burgess; 26 December 1944) is an English actress. Biography Lapotaire was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, the daughter of Louise Elise (Burgess). Her stepfather, Yves Lapotaire, worked in the oil industry and was ...

Dora Maar Henriette Theodora Markovitch (22 November 1907 – 16 July 1997), known as Dora Maar, was a French photographer, painter, and poet. A romantic partner of Pablo Picasso, Maar was depicted in a number of Picasso's paintings, including his ''Portr ...

(played by

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...

Marie-Thérèse Walter Marie-Thérèse Walter (13 July 1909 – 20 October 1977) was a French model and lover of Pablo Picasso from 1927 to about 1935 and the mother of their daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso. Their relationship began when she was seventeen years old; he ...

(played by Susannah Harker), and

Jacqueline Roque Jacqueline Picasso or Jacqueline Roque (24 February 1927 – 15 October 1986) was the muse and second wife of Pablo Picasso. Their marriage lasted 12 years until his death, during which time he created over 400 portraits of her, more than any of ...

(played by

Diane Venora Diane Venora is an American stage, television and film actress. She graduated from the Juilliard School in 1977 and made her film debut in 1981 opposite Albert Finney in '' Wolfen''. She won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Support ...

Cast

* Joss Ackland as

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

Dennis Boutsikaris Dennis Boutsikaris (; born December 21, 1952) is an American character actor who has won the Obie Award twice. He is also a narrator of audiobooks, for which he has won 13 Golden Earphone Awards and 8 Audie Awards. He won Best Audiobook of the ...

as Kootz *

Peter Eyre Peter Gervaise Joseph Eyre (born 11 March 1942) is an American-born English actor. Eyre was born in New York City, the son of Dorothy Pelline ( née Acton) and Edward Joseph Eyre, a banker. He was sent to a public school in England at the age ...

as Sabartes *

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety (born May 17, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known as Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Career Gerety is a veteran of stage, screen and television. In early 1992, he performed to critical acclaim on Broadway ...

as Marcel * Susannah Harker as

Joseph Maher Joseph Sylvester Maher (29 December 1933 – 17 July 1998) was an Irish actor, playwright, and occasionally theatre director. He was best known for his roles in the comedies of Joe Orton. He received three Tony Award nominations for his roles in ...

as Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler *

Bob Peck Robert Peck (23 August 1945 – 4 April 1999) was an English actor who played Ronald Craven in the television serial ''Edge of Darkness'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He was also known for his role as game warden Rob ...

as Françoise's Father *

Joan Plowright Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony ...

as Françoise's Grandmother *

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), ...

as Paulo Picasso *

Laura Aikman Laura Holly Aikman (born 24 December 1985) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Debbie in ''Not Going Out'' and '' Gavin and Stacey'' as Sonia. Early life Aikman was born in the London Borough of Brent in 1985, the daught ...

Maya Widmaier-Picasso María de la Concepción "Maya" Widmaier-Picasso (5 September 1935 20 December 2022), later known as Maya Ruiz-Picasso, was the eldest daughter of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso and Marie-Thérèse Walter. She devoted part of her life to the study ...

Nigel Whitmey Nigel Whitmey (born 23 February 1963) is a British-Canadian actor who has appeared in TV series and films. He is also the husband of the actress Abigail Thaw, whom he met while training at RADA. Early life Whitmey was born in Peace River, Alb ...

as Pierre *

Leon Lissek Leon Lissek (19 January 1939 – 13 January 2022) was an Australian-born British actor. He appeared in over 80 films in his career, which started with ''Marat/Sade''. Lissek was well known for his television roles in ''The Sullivans'' and ''Eas ...

Andreas Wisniewski Andreas Wisniewski (born 3 July 1959) is a German actor and former dancer. He is best known for his portrayals of Necros in the 1987 Bond film ''The Living Daylights'', Max's companion in the 1996 film '' Mission: Impossible'', and as one of Han ...

Anthony Milner Anthony Francis Dominic Milner (13 May 1925 – 22 September 2002) was a British composer, teacher and conductor. Milner was born in Bristol, and educated at Douai School, Berkshire. He was awarded a bursary to attend the Royal College of Music ...

* Tom Fisher *

Vernon Dobtcheff Vernon Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a British actor, best known for his roles on television and film, he has acted in numerous stage productions. Biography Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Pre ...

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pa ...

Hamish McColl Hamish McColl (born 28 January 1962) is a British comedian, writer and actor. He trained at the École Philippe Gaulier, Paris and the University of Cambridge. With Sean Foley, he formed the double act ''The Right Size'' in 1988, creating com ...

Sandor Elès József Sándor Éles (15 June 1936 – 10 September 2002), sometimes credited simply as Sándor Éles, was a Hungarian actor. He was best known latterly for TV and film work. Born in Tatabánya, 60 km from Budapest, Éles was orphaned dur ...

, Brigitte Kahn,

Olegar Fedoro Olegar Fedoro ( ''né'' Olegár Pablo Fedóro; born 6 March 1958) is a Ukrainian-born former Soviet performer who later became a Spanish and then English actor. He enrolled in the acclaimed VGIK Film School (All-Russian State University of Ci ...

as Party Guests *

Rose English Rose English is a British artist working in performance, installation, theatre, dance and film. She has been writing, directing and performing her own work for over thirty five years in venues as various as Tate Britain; Royal Court Theatre; Qu ...

* Judith Sharp

Production

The film was shot in

and southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

it has a rating of 35% based on reviews from 20 critics. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

it has a score of 55 out of 100, based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * * {{Pablo Picasso 1996 films 1990s biographical drama films American biographical drama films Biographical films about painters Films directed by James Ivory Films with screenplays by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Cultural depictions of Pablo Picasso Cultural depictions of Henri Matisse Merchant Ivory Productions films Films shot at Pinewood Studios The Wolper Organization films Films set in France Films shot in France Films shot in Paris Films set in Paris Films based on biographies 1996 drama films Films produced by David L. Wolper 1990s English-language films 1990s American films